The presidents of the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa announced their decisions to donate part of their salaries to their universities.

Mary Sue Coleman, president of the University of Iowa, was the first to announce in July that she would donate her 16.8 percent pay increase to the university. The $40,000 raise will be used for the university’s fund-raising campaign.

Less than a week later, UNI President Robert Koob announced he would also donate his pay increase. His $31,000 contribution will go toward UNI’s Students First fund.

President Gregory Geoffroy said he plans on making a gift to Iowa State, but he will not follow suit with Coleman and Koob.

The Board of Regents approved salary increases for Coleman and Koob earlier this year.

Coleman received an increase which matched her salary to Geoffroy’s, whose salary was set at $275,000 before he was hired. Koob, then received a 16.8 percent pay increase, making his annual pay $216,650.

“I don’t know his actual motivation, but I do know he was planning on making a gift to the Students First campaign, and he was going to do it as part of the campus campaign in September,” said James O’Connor, UNI media relations director.

“But with recent events and with President Coleman . making her announcement, he thought this was the right way to make his announcement as well.”

In a written statement, Coleman said, “At the July Board meeting, the Regents adjusted my salary to equal that of the new president of Iowa State University, a decision they had announced last February. As I indicated then and again last week, I plan to donate the entire amount of the increase (after I pay applicable taxes) to the current fund-raising campaign for the university.”

Geoffroy said he will make a gift to the university through the ISU Foundation.

“My wife and I are discussing . [what] we would like to give,” Geoffroy said. “We always regard these as family decisions.”

Geoffroy and his wife Kathy have made contributions to other universities where he worked in administrative positions, such as Penn State University.

“I think it is important for university presidents to be a model for members of the university community and their own personal philanthropy,” Geoffroy said. “In general, I think it’s important for presidents to sort of pave the way for philanthropy by the members of the university community.”